Cosmopolitan: July 2018 – Issa Rae

The Insecure star shines in the summer’s best beauty and talks finding your inner confidence.

Her show may be called Insecure, but writer, actress and all-around badass Issa Rae is anything but. And these bold summer beauty looks? Equally boss. Here’s Issa on everything from blocking out the haters to what it was like becoming the face of CoverGirl.

Why confidence is a continuum:

“Confidence comes from knowing your shit is good. I’m for sure confident when it comes to work and trying to fulfill my dreams. Socially, the confidence has teetered, but that’s growing as I’m coming into who I am.”

How she doesn’t hear the haters:

“There comes a point when you have to block it out but remain humble—that’s the balance I’m trying to navigate.”

Why appearances are personal:

“I’m going to look how I want to look—it’s going to be on my own terms. If people criticize my look, it really does not matter to me. It’s about how I feel.”

On that season two glow-up:

“I thrive off fresh starts. I will do a cleanse or diet—I need a reset button. So seeing myself on TV for a season was an excuse to be like ‘I want to lose a couple of pounds.’ I want to look my best, be my best, and feel my best.”

Becoming the face of CoverGirl was…

“Kind of surreal. Like, ‘Wow, y’all are choosing me?’ It was for the little girl in me who never thought that this would be possible. There’s power in representation. There’s affirmation in representation.”

How she wants women of color to be seen onscreen:

“I prioritize making darkskinned women desirable. You don’t see a lot of dark-skin representation. That’s been overlooked. Also, seeing them as beautiful, in addition to desirable, which are two very different things.”